Gratituesday 10.4.22 - Atonement

The holiday of Yom Kippur or the Day of Atonement - starts tonight and it’s considered the most important holiday in the Jewish faith. Yom Kippur is one of the High Holy Days along with Rosh Hashana or the Jewish New Year. I’m a more cultural, rather than practicing Jew. I may lead a mean Passover Seder, but for the most part I don’t go to synagogue. However for Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur I do abstain from working. It may be the Book of Life thing, but I aim for some “good Jew” points and I also fast from sundown to sundown.

The reason Yom Kippur is also called the Day of Atonement is because Jews are encouraged to make amends and ask forgiveness for sins committed during the past year. Well that, and Yom means “day” in Hebrew, and Kippur means “to atone”, um, that’s the Day of Atonement! Traditionally, the belief is that after judging a person by their deeds over the last year, G-d decides who will be sealed in the Book of Life. That means who will live for another year and who will die. See, serious Book of Life stuff.

Atonement of sins seems pretty grand. Sure I may have done things that require an apology, but were they enough to warrant atonement? Maybe yes, maybe no. I have a feeling that I need to call my father, so maybe my conscious is telling me something I don’t want to hear. In any case, throughout the 10 Days of Awe leading up to Yom Kippur, many Jews reflect on the personal aspects of the past year. They consider how to improve and how to better show compassion to others. Of course, this reflection is ripe for my Weekly Lists. Care to join me in creating a list of gratitudes, celebrations and/or desires? The comment section is always open below if you want to share something about mine or add your own lists. G'mar chatima tova, friends. May you be inscribed in the Book of Life for good.

Gratitudes

1. Steam heat in my apartment

2. Time to read and catch up on guilty pleasure TV shows

3. My accountability partner, Artem

4. Hot coffee and white wine

5. My wedding and catering colleagues

Celebrations

1. Having all the ingredients to make a quiche for break fast tomorrow

2. Slowly but surely tackling my cleaning and content calendar

3. 918 days of Spanish lessons on Duolingo

4. Treating myself with some small purchases

5. Daily meditation every morning

Desires

1. For Maxie to stop biting my face in the middle of the night

2. To return to my connection calendar

3. More wedding and counseling inquiries

4. Two massages - one missed in September and my October monthly one

5. A mani/pedi - more self-care!